Wednesday, November 19, 2014

10 ways in which Ivanhoe is like The Hunger Games trilogy

Just recently I've been reading the great classic novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, and one of the things that struck me is that although it is titled Ivanhoe, the hero, who bears that name, is out of action for large chunks of the book. He appears early on, gets injured, and then spends a long time lying about in a tent, being carried through the forest in a litter, and then languishing in a castle being tended by a beautiful girl. Although he does finally recover so that he can gallop to the rescue at the end of the book, he misses one of the best fights because he is still lying in bed. This scenario seemed strangely familiar somehow. Aha, I thought, this is just like Peeta in The Hunger Games. But when I thought about it, there were a whole bunch of other similarities.

Therefore, I bring you: 10 ways in which Ivanhoe is like The Hunger Games trilogy. You're welcome.

There are the haves (the Norman
nobility, the residents of the Capitol) and the have-nots (the dispossessed
Saxons, the residents of the Districts). The have-nots tend to supplement their
diet by poaching deer.

There is an evil ruler who is
skin-crawlingly horrible: Prince John in Ivanhoe,
and President Snow in The Hunger Games.

There is a whole lot of fighting
with different weapons, quite a lot of it in the woods. Bows and arrows feature
heavily.

There’s a special signal of a
short series of notes. Rue has her four-note mockingjay call, and in Ivanhoe the outlaws have a three note
bugle signal to summon help. Three notes, four notes, practically the same
really.

The arena gets wrecked in both.
In Catching Fire, Katniss shoots a
hole in the force field and destroys it. Meanwhile, in 12th century
England, Torquilstone castle, scene of a climactic battle, is stormed and burnt
down to the ground.

There’s a hot love triangle with
one blonde and one brunette. In Ivanhoe,
the hero has to decide between blonde Saxon princess Rowena and dark haired
Jewish beauty Rebecca. In The Hunger
Games trilogy, Katniss has to decide between blond Peeta and dark haired
Gale. At the end, the reader is still sucking their teeth over the choice.

The hero spends most of the book
injured and out of action, being tended by the heroine. In The Hunger Games, Peeta lies around in a cave having his brow
mopped by Katniss; meanwhile Ivanhoe lies around in a tent, a litter and later
a castle, having his brow mopped by Rebecca.

There is one character who
dresses in bizarre colourful clothes and says things which would probably
provoke the other characters if they didn’t have a certain amount of affection
for them. I’m thinking Wamba the jester here, and Effie Trinket.

There are three volumes in each.
Aha, you may be thinking, The Hunger
Games is a trilogy, but Ivanhoe is
just one book, available as a handy Penguin paperback. This is true, but
actually the first edition came in three volumes. I win.